


Destiny's Children

by Darkorangecat (Calacious)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adoption, Angst with a Happy Ending, De-Aged Harry, Gen, Past Rape/Non-con, Severitus, Severus Snape-centric, Severus as Ron's father, Severus' past with Death Eaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5143127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Darkorangecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus lies awake next to a de-aged Harry, while his other son, Ron, sleeps in his room down the hall, and ponders the decisions in his life that have led up to this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Destiny's Children

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the characters of this work of fiction and am making no money through the writing of this.
> 
> Based on the following prompt from Potions and Snitches, by Jadie:  
> Harry has always wanted a family. Ron has a large one, and seems willing to share. But what if Ron discovered that he was adopted and his father was, gasp, Severus Snape! Must be largely Harry-centric despite Ron's central role, perhaps ending with Harry adopted himself.

It was unintentional. He'd not meant for it to happen. Yet it had happened, and there were now consequences that had to be dealt with. Consequences which had been years, thirteen to be exact, in the making

One such consequence was lying beside him, snuggled up against him, hogging all of the blankets, save for one. He ran his hand through the child's dark hair and smiled when the child smacked his lips and drew nearer, as though seeking warmth and comfort.

A strange, overwhelming feeling flooded his heart, and Severus frowned. He wasn't used to this. He wasn't used to caring, to feeling anything other than anger, guilt and remorse.

This was one of the good consequences of his actions all of those years ago. The other was currently sound asleep in his own room, a recent addition to Severus’ quarters, not having accidentally de-aged himself in a potions accident like the one lying next to him had.

The two boys were best friends, which almost seemed like fate. Except Severus didn't believe in fate. If he did, that would mean that the terrible things that he'd done had been out of his control, part of some bigger plan written by destiny, and he refused to believe that. Refused to blame fate for the decisions that he'd made, good and bad. He suffered the consequences, and so had others, he was damn well going to take responsibility for the decisions that had wrought them, not assign them to fate.

His decision to join the Dark Lord because his childhood had been a series of one bad thing after another, had just been the start of his career in making bad choices. It had been a ripple effect from then on out.

The things he'd done in the Dark Lord's name could not be blamed on anyone else but himself, and he took responsibility for them. For the death of the Potters, for Harry's formative years being spent in a childhood hell, comparable to the one that Severus had suffered through. For the ill-advised one night stand that he'd had with Lily that made Harry his, and not Potter's. For the act of non-consensual sex which had caused him to father Ronald Weasley, or rather the baby the Weasleys had taken in when his own young mother had died after giving premature birth to the child who’d grown up knowing a love that neither Severus nor Harry had. A love that, though he’d taken the boy away from it, would follow him, because the Weasleys had more love than anyone (other than Lily and apparently Harry) Severus had ever known.

That he was here, now, caring for these two boys -- his sons -- was a miracle that he did not deserve. A miracle that Lily, and, for some unfathomable reason, James Potter and the Weasleys, had seen fit to give him when he’d finally remembered what had happened all those many years ago.

Albus Dumbledore had played no small part in reuniting him with his sons, returning memories that Severus had culled from his own shattered mind the day that the Potters were killed by the man he'd sworn allegiance to. The man who, in the end, had betrayed him.

A small part of him, even at the beginning, knew that he couldn't fully trust the wizard who'd claimed to love him, though he'd treated Severus like a favored son, taking him under his wing and teaching him the dark arts. The time he'd spent in the Death Eaters' ranks hadn't been wholly unpleasant, but they'd been dark, sometimes terrifying, and confusing times.

Severus would never get the days of his misspent youth back. Unlike the recovered memories, those days were lost to him forever. Lost in a mad rush of bloodlust, megalomaniac fervor that he would forever regret.

But, by some twist of...fate, luck of the gods, Severus had a second chance to have something that he’d never even dreamed of having. A family.

Harry shifted in his sleep, his cold toes making Severus draw in a sharp breath when they wiggled their way between his calves. Parenthood was going to take some getting used to, but, for the first time in a long time, Severus was exactly where he wanted to be, and had nothing to regret.

In a week, Harry would be the rule-breaking, hardheaded thirteen year old that Severus had thought was the bane of his existence, and Severus would be missing cold toes pressed against his calves, a sharp knee to the groin and the sound of gentle snores lulling him to sleep. 


End file.
